Turkish fluency alone elevated a man above native Egyptians in status

Evidence

Members of the high echelons of the bureaucracy and the “aristocracy” at large were Turkish-speaking, people from all over the Ottoman world who had come to Egypt seeking employment in the Pasha’s administration and, depending on their connections, would be given a position in the civil service. Indeed, the “meanest man who [spoke] Turkish [was] ipso facto considered as belonging to a caste high above the indigenous inhabitant.” Lower down on the administrative scale Arabic was more common, giving rise to a duality in administrative language that often caused considerable confusion and ambiguity. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1325